Gun Control Essay, Research Paper

Gun Control

Handgun violence in the United States has been getting out of hand, and it is time to act upon this monstrosity. There have been politicians who have passed mandatory laws that require trigger locks on guns, but this method of safety has proved to be quite ineffective. People find a way to get around using the trigger lock s, and these laws are not enforced enough. Many states require that extensive background checks must be done before an individual is allowed to purchase a firearm. Still, these steps to reduce violence are not enough; the only solution is to rid the sale of handguns in the United States. Handgun sales should be banned by the United States Federal Government in order to prevent domestic violence, practically eliminate accidental deaths, and greatly reduce the number of armed robberies in our country.

Domestic violence in the U.S. has been on the rise over the past several years. Handguns can be found to be responsible in many domestic violence situations. If there were no handguns, there would be a considerable drop in the percentage of violent domestic crimes. If a criminal does not have access to a handgun, he/she will find it much more difficult to successfully commit a domestic crime. Even if a domestic assault was committed, the outcome would most likely not end up in a shooting, hence no handgun to shoot. A stabbing is much better than being shot. Overall, the domestic violence percentages would drop nationwide with the aid of the handgun ban.

Another major problem associated with handguns is accidental deaths. Many people often store their guns in a drawer in their bedroom, or under the bed. However, this is good for their children, seeing that they (the children) can easily find daddy s gun and start playing cops and robbers with a loaded gun. It really is a tragedy when one hears of a child finding his/her parent s handgun and blows their head off or the mailman s head off, who was just trying to deliver the mail. The child was only pretending it was a real gun, little did he/she know that the gun was loaded. If handguns are banned, there will be no more accidental deaths because the children will not find guns in their house. It is always the unloaded gun that kills someone.

Armed robberies are often committed with a handgun, or at least a handgun is involved. What would a criminal do if he/she could not obtain a weapon to commit a crime with? My guess would be that the criminal would have second thoughts about the robbery. These crimes often times end up leading to a hostage situation. Many deaths occur during a holdup, usually the victim being a hostage. With the ban of handguns, these hostages situations would become practically obsolete. The percentages of armed robberies would also decrease in a dramatic way throughout the Continental United States.

As clearly stated, the banning of handguns would only bring good. It is a win-win situation. Many lives would be saved in the long run, along with the decline of thousands of robberies that are committed everyday in our homes, neighborhoods, businesses and schools. Its time to make a change that effects all of us